Which one do you prefer?

I am seeing plenty of mixed opinions about both Spotify and Tidal. Some are saying Spotify is the best, others say it’s bloated, others think it’s annoying it’s also an app for podcasts. Some people really like Tidal, but I have mostly seen negative opinions about it - worse song recommendations, no difference in audio, too expensive.

As someone who doesn’t care very much for song recommendations I can’t decide which one is ideal for me personally. Tidal seems to pay artists better, but the criticism it receives makes me unsure. What do y’all think?

  • beerclue@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 year ago

    I use YouTube Music. For 18€/month, I get unlimited access to both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music for the whole family (5 accounts). The music selection is better than Spotify, as anything tagged as “music video” on YouTube you can play in YT Music. I can’t tell the difference in sound quality between Spotify and YT Music, but I use Bluetooth headphones anyway…

    • TheWildTangler@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 year ago

      Spotify and YT music have the two lowest bitrates at 192kbps for YT and 328kbps for Spotify so they both sound like garbage. I’ve never listened to music less than when I was using YT music. Bad personalized playlists, awful sound quality, it would mix in music videos and shit. I’d rather the radio at that point

      Tidal sounds vastly better (1441kbps lossless CD quality at the same price) but their personalized playlists are quite lacking.

      However… I’ve found Apple Music to be the best one. Its audio quality is even higher than Tidal, supporting not only lossless, but also high-res lossless (between 4608 and 9616 kbps… far above above CD quality, great for studio speakers.) Its recommendations are almost as good as Spotify too.

      I don’t own any Apple hardware btw, the app works great on Android. The Windows app is “in preview” but it’s pretty stable and both of them support lossless audio (just don’t use the website to listen, that’s not lossless)

      Edit: spelling and formatting looked okay on my tiny phone

      Edit 2: I forgot to mention that both Spotify (and especially YT Music try as hard as possible to not pay artists. Tidal was known for paying artists really well until a year or two ago when new ownership changed things. Apple Music still pays pretty well (for a streaming service)

      Edit 3: Tidal also has high-res lossless but the “Max” tier is twice the price

      • beerclue@lemmy.world
        01·
        1 year ago

        I get what you’re saying and if quality matters to you, go for it. I listen on Bluetooth headphones while commuting, and I really can’t tell the difference… For me, the added benefit of YouTube Premium is better than the potential sound quality increase. It’s great that we have choices :)

        Edit: YT Music has 256kbps AAC & OPUS